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This book presents a unique and comprehensive examination of the human and moral rights of artists. In what is arguably the first exhaustive book-length account of artists' rights, Paul Kearns explores the problems associated with censorship, both from philosophical and legal perspectives, and focuses onathe various ways in which the morality of art is legally regulated in different jurisdictions.

In relation to human rights, English, French and American law, the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, European Union law and public international law are all closely scrutinised to discover the extent to which they offer protection for artistic freedom. The author also examines domestic and international law in respect of artists' moral rights, the law of copyright and related laws.

In short,athe book providesaan original, and sometimes controversial,aanalysis of persistent concerns regardingathe legal regulation ofathe arts universally, doctrinally and theoretically,aandaseeks to offer an holistic treatment which will appealato art lawyers, artistsaand those interested in the future of the arts.

Introduction Part I: A Contemporary Overview Essay 1: A Critical and Historical Study of English Legal Restraints on Artistic Liberty I Introduction II Censorship, Pornography and Art III The Evolution of Freedom of Artistic Expression in England IV Contemporary Crimes and Case Law V Four Major Case Paradigms: The Judicialisation of Art in English Public-Moral Law VI European Legal Influences: A Brief Summary VII Conclusions and Reform Part II: Art, Obscenity, Religion and the Law: Writings at the Turn of the Century Essay 2: When Art is Misunderstood: Obscene and Blasphemous Libel in 2000 I Introduction II Backcloth III The Offences IV The Rushdie Problematic V The Foetus Earrings VI The 'Sensation' Exhibition VII Conclusions Essay 3: The Uncultured God: The Triumph of Blasphemy Law over Art (2000) I Introduction II The Domestic Context III The Satanic Verses IV The European Doctrine V Wingrove Facts and the Commission Report VI Overview VII Reform Essay 4: Postmodern Art: A Reflection on Western Legal Paradigms in 2000 I Introduction II Postmodernism III Obscenity IV Lady Chatterley and DH Lawrence V The Foetus Earrings and Gibson and Sylveire VI The Satanic Verses and Salman Rushdie VII St Teresa of Avila and Nigel Wingrove VIII The 'Sensation' Exhibition IX 'The Perfect Moment' and Robert Mapplethorpe X Conclusion Essay 5: Obscenity Law and the Creative Writer: The Case of DH Lawrence I Introduction II International Involvements III The English Situation and its Wider Repercussions Part III: Later Developments and Writing on Art, Obscenity, Religion and the Law Essay 6: The Decline of Obscenity Law: A 2007 Perspective I Introduction II Basic Anomalies III Exoneration IV Conclusions: Desuetude and Abrogation Essay 7: The End of Blasphemy Law: A 2008 Perspective I Introduction II Brief Analysis of Blasphemy Law in the UK III UK Blasphemy Law in an International Context IV Some Concluding Observations Essay 8: Incitement to Religious Hatred and its Effects on Free Speech I Historical Analysis II A Short 2013 Postscript to the 2006 Act Part IV: Highly Topical Legal Issues on the Regulation of Artistic Freedom Essay 9: The Contemporary Rights of Artists in England, France and the USA (2013) I Introduction II The Human Rights of Artists III The Intellectual Property Rights of Artists IV Some General Conclusions Essay 10: Artistic Liberty and the European Court of Human Rights I Introduction II The Complexity of the Central Issues: Art, Obscenity, Pornography and Harm III The Strasbourg Court on Art and Immorality: Article 10 ECHR IV The Strasbourg Court on Political Art and Sedition: Article 10 ECHR V American Protection of Artistic Freedom under the First Amendment: A Comparison with the Strasbourg Approach VI General Conclusions Essay 11: Controversial Art and the Legal Enforcement of Morality in England I Introduction II Constitutional Considerations and the Nature of Art and Law III Relationship between Obscenity and Related Laws and Art IV Blasphemy and Art V Freedom of Artistic Expression under the Human Rights Act 1998 VI Freedom of Artistic Expression under the European Convention on Human Rights VII A Concise Comparison between the Strasbourg Approach and Other Systems of Artistic Freedom Protection VIII Extreme Pornography and Art IX Concluding Reform Proposals and Remarks Part V: European Union Law and Culture Essay 12: The Culture Problematic in European Union Law: A 2002 Perspective Essay 13: EU Law and Culture: An Holistic Overview (2004) I Introduction II General Perspectives on Culture and EU Law III Autopoiesis, Culture and EU Law IV Culture and EU Case Law V Culture-Related Paradigms in EU Law VI Conclusions